the_future_is_wildfandomcom-20200215-history
Reef glider
|name = Reef glider|kingdom = Animalia|phylum = Mollusca|class = Gastropoda}} The '''reef glider' is a species of giant free-swimming nudibranch or sea slug found in the shallow seas of 100 million AD. Growing up to four metres in length, reef gliders are the largest known gastropods in history. They are also succesful, and by the 100 million AD mass extinction, in which they vanish, they had already existed in their final form for millions of years. Ecology While the adults are predators, young reef gliders derive most of their nutrients from red algae, feeding from the cup-like structures formed by the algae, where deposits of protein and carbohydrate are stored. Symbiotically, they also help the algae to reproduce: when the gliders reach their mouths into the algae's cups, their beaks become coated with sticky strands of reproductive gamete cells, which are then scraped off inside another algae's cup when the glider feeds again. The algae may be specially adapted to be pollinated specifically by reef gliders, as their "flowers" are precisely the right size and shape for a juvenile reef glider's front end. Young reef gliders themselves are hunted by ocean phantoms, giant colonial siphonophores, which catch them using their tentacles when the young gliders are gyrating among the red algae: sometimes a baby reef glider will even approach an ocean phantom willingly, out of curiosity. The adult reef gliders, however, are too large to be harmed by ocean phantoms, and are in fact its chief predators. Adult gliders hunt ocean phantoms in packs, devouring their air sacs, tentacles, rudders, and keels - every part of the phantom beneath the waterline. Phantoms, however, also have a defense in the form of spindletroopers. Extinction After enjoying millions of years of success, reef gliders are wiped out in the 100 million AD mass extinction. The marine ecosystems are the first to be affected by the mass extinction, and when the temperature of the once-warm shallow seas falls due to storms of ash, and the prevailing currents fail, the reef gliders shrivel and die out due to lack of food. As Pangaea II forms and the shallow seas dry up, the the mud reefs are compressed into solid stone, leaving the remains of animals like reef gliders trapped within the rock. Eventually these remains were dissolved by acids in the groundwater, creating small holes in the stone, which eventually expanded into large caves. By 200 million AD, these caverns have filled with water, creating a system of underground reservoirs below Pangaea II. Appearances In the documentary In "Flooded World," some juvenile reef gliders feeding on red algae are ambushed by an ocean phantom, which catches one of them. The phantom is later attacked by an adult reef glider, which is fought off by the phantom's spindletrooper army. In the manga In "Great Shallow Sea," baby reef gliders are eaten by an ocean phantom, which is in turn attacked by a whole shoal of adults, which tear off some of its bells before being repelled by the spindletrooper army. List of appearances *''The Future Is Wild'' **1x01. Welcome to the Future **1x07. Flooded World *''The Future Is Wild: A Natural History of the Future'' *''The Future Is Wild'' (fulldome show) *''The Future Is Wild'' manga **04. Great Shallow Sea *''The Future Is Wild'' animated series **1x08. Phantom Fear **1x17. Around the World In 80 Minutes (cameo) **1x25. Queen of the Squibbons, Part 2 (cameo) *''The Future Is Wild: The Living Book'' In other languages Navigation Category:Animals Category:Invertebrates Category:Molluscs Category:Gastropods Category:Organisms of 100 million AD Category:Organisms of the Shallow Seas Category:100 million AD